Posted By Paul Flannery On February 27, 2011 @ 1:20 am In General | 1 Comment

It took the Celtics[1] a half to get going, but once they got it together the Clippers were no match for them in a 99-92 Celtics victory Saturday night in Los Angeles. (Recap[2].) Paul Pierce[3] had a team-high 24 points, while Ray Allen[4] added 22 and Kevin Garnett[5] had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Rajon Rondo[6] also had 11 assists.

Here’s what went right and what went wrong on a night when Jeff Green[7] and Nenad Krstic[8] officially became Celtics.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Free throw shooting: The Celtics are an offensive team that relies almost exclusively on making shots from the floor. They don’t get on the offensive glass much and they rarely get to the free throw line relative to other teams. On a night when they struggled to get shots to fall, the Celtics made it work at the free throw line where they took a season-high 41 attempts and made 35 of those shots. They also recorded 14 offensive rebounds, six from Krstic.

Kevin Garnett’s defense on Blake Griffin[9]: It’s not as if Garnett was able to stop Griffin, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds. The rookie phenom had his usual collection of spectacular jams and is an open-floor terror. But Garnett was able to work Griffin out of the low post in the halfcourt and make things difficult on him. Griffin is so good he was still able to flip home impossible shots, but Garnett’s defense was a subtle mastery of the art and a reminder of how technically proficient he is at his craft.

Third quarter: After a first half that was absolutely dreadful (see below), the Celtics outscored the Clippers 34-17 in the third quarter and had 10 assists on 11 field goals, up from just six on 12 in the entire first half. The C’s also clamped down defensively, limiting the Clippers to one shot and controlling the glass.

WHAT WENT WRONG

The first half: The Celtics were fortunate to be down just seven points after a half in which they shot 34 percent and turned it over nine times. Garnett, Pierce and Glen Davis[10] shot a combined 4-for-16. (All three, but especially Pierce completely turned his game around in the second half.) The Celtics looked disorganized on offense and slow on defense. They were able to hang around by going to the free throw line 17 times, converting 15 shots.

First reaction is a mixed bag: The first glimpse of the new-look Celtics suggests these guys are going to need some time to get used to playing with one another. While Krstic provided some opportunistic work on the offensive glass, he was also a step behind in the defensive rotations and spent most of the first half in foul trouble, while Green appeared tentative.

All that’s to be expected, and it’s worth mentioning that the Celtics actually have four new players getting minutes right now counting Delonte West[11] and D-League pickup Chris Johnson[12].

As with the rest of the team, the second half was a totally different story for the players who are trying to fit in. Green appeared more confident and West ran the team flawlessly in the fourth quarter. It’s going to take time for all the pieces to fit, but Saturday night’s game was a good first step.